Bangkok -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- More than two months of floods and 8 million people affected -- the disaster in Thailand is immense ; the aid effort a challenge .

Much of the effort appears to be internally driven . Thais across the country are donating food , water and clothing to help their countrymen in the worst-hit areas . Donations have far surpassed previous years . Floods happen every year here , but these are the worst in half a century and have left at least 283 dead .

The Thai military and aid groups share the responsibility of distributing the life-saving supplies . In the ancient city of Ayutthara , one of the worst-hit regions , military trucks move slowly down the main street , cutting through a constant river of water , passing out aid to those who can get close .

Anyone who has a boat is using it to transport aid or to help neighbors carrying their possessions as water levels rise and engulf homes . Those who do n't have a boat are making do with rubber tires or even slabs of Styrofoam . There is a true sense of teamwork between the communities .

The Bangkok suburb of Sam Kok is sandwiched between the overflowing Chao Phraya River and the 2.5-meter floodwalls that are so far successfully protecting the inner and commercial part of the capital . The water here has nowhere to go and levels are rising fast .

La Sinsap , 60 , has had to move into the local temple as his house is completely submerged . He says the situation is dire and help is not getting there fast enough to those who do n't live on the main street .

`` It 's very bad around here , '' he told CNN . `` We do n't have enough to eat . ''

Temples are playing a significant role in the disaster . Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist and many temples , although flooded themselves , have some dry floors on higher ground and have opened their doors to those in need .

Monk Somkuan Thanajaro says it will take a long time to fix the waterlogged temple where Sinsap is staying . Huge Buddhas sit in stagnant water along what was once a river bank . The worry is if the water does n't recede soon , the damage to these historic monuments could be permanent .

But Thanajaro 's first concern is helping his community , many of whom are now sleeping in the temple . `` Whenever we get donations , we share it all with the villagers , '' he says .

The international community is responding to the disasters playing out across Thailand . China has donated $ 1.5 million and the United States $ 1 million . The U.S. is also sending 26 helicopters to help the relief effort , invaluable as more roads turn to rivers and become impassable .

United Nations agencies also are on standby , activating their assessment teams and contingency planning in Thailand , Cambodia and Vietnam , according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs . The World Health Organization has offered emergency health kits .

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8 million people are affected by the floods , which have killed 283 people

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Thais are leading the aid effort , providing their countrymen with food , water and clothing

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Temples have become a place of refuge for those whose homes are submerged